Letters: North County, Jan. 9, 2013

The money that they save by seeking, prosecuting and recovering the taxpayer abuse will probably exceed their 10 percent cut.

Since other hospitals in this group were probably doing the same thing, on orders from headquarters, is anything being done? Help please, U-T Watchdog?

Rachel Meyer

Ramona

Congress’ raise is undeserved

The next time you talk to your boss about a raise, you should remind him/her that a satisfactory performance is not a prerequisite for a salary bump.

Explain that if you were a member of Congress, you could have the worst performance in history and still be given a raise. Since these incompetent individuals represent Americans, tell him you have chosen to follow their example, which is to do a miserable, disgraceful job and collect your paycheck.

In the midst of a budget negotiation that had the country hurtling toward the fiscal cliff, a raise for this “do-nothing,” dysfunctional Congress is the last thing that should have been approved by Obama. If anything, he should have signed an executive order stopping all salary payments to Congress until they signed a budget deal.

Tack on a daily fine as well until a deal is struck. That would have got some attention. All cuts in the government should start at the stop.

The President and all members of Congress should donate their salaries to the U.S. Treasury and hold a joint press conference on the steps of the Capitol building and offer a public apology to the American people.

Bethany Moriarty

Oceanside

Gun ownership and civil liberties

The National Rifle Association’s concern is defense against government’s encroachment on civil liberties, just as armed patriots in 1776 were prepared against their British rulers. Good reason?

The misnamed Patriot Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush on Oct. 26, 2001. It was designed to spy on American citizens, monitoring our activities in order to discern if someone is a terrorist. It authorizes indefinite detention, without trial, until the “War on Terror” ends. Sneak-and-peek warrants enable searches without notifying the targets. The Patriot Act ignores due process of law and is unconstitutional.

The National Defense Authorization Act, an onerous law, was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama on New Year’s Eve, 2011. This law subjects U.S. citizens to indefinite detention on the say-so of the president. That is one of the greatest rollbacks of civil liberties in the history of our country.

H.R. 1540, the NDAA, allows that any American can be arrested for any reason with no hearing, no bail and no attorney, and be held without charges for the rest of his life.

These two laws, the Patriot Act and the National Defense Authorization Act, were written in the guise of security.

Robert “Zeb” Zbornak

Oceanside

Keep up the good work

Thanks to Mayor Sam Abed and the majority City Council members of Escondido for their continued efforts to make Escondido a great place to live.

The article in the North County Times Jan. 1 regarding driving crime down and cleaning up Grape Day Park was wonderful (“Campaign drives down crime, homelessness in Escondido”). Please keep up the good work. Escondido, in the past, has been a magnet for uneducated and unemployed welfare recipients. New businesses do not want to come to this city if they see crime and poverty.

The comment in the article regarding having the local churches stop enabling people to “live on our streets” is commendable. If people need food or shelter handouts, the local churches should provide the necessities at their locations.

Again, thanks to everyone who is working to see that Escondido is changed for the better.